/*
 * Copyright 2010 the original author or authors.
 *
 * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
 * You may obtain a copy of the License at
 *
 *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 *
 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 * limitations under the License.
 */
package org.springframework.templating;

import org.springframework.core.io.Resource;

/**
 * Loads String templates from resource files.
 * @author Keith Donald
 */
public interface StringTemplateLoader {
	
	/**
	 * Load the StringTemplate from the file-based resource.
	 * The template text is generally parsed into a structure that is subsequently cached.
	 * StringTemplate instances returned to callers of this method are prototypes that may be safely modified and used in the current thread of execution.
	 */
	StringTemplate loadStringTemplate(Resource resource);
		
}